Calories in Fruit & Veg

Jackie_W

Do we count the calories in Fruit & Veg or not?
I've read somewhere that these are 'free foods' yet everywhere I look, I see the calorific value - do I add these into my daily allowance or ignore them?

Seems strange to me that you count the calories, but can eat at much of these as you want.

Jackie_W

Do we count the calories in Fruit & Veg or not?
I've read somewhere that these are 'free foods' yet everywhere I look, I see the calorific value - do I add these into my daily allowance or ignore them?

Seems strange to me that you count the calories, but can eat at much of these as you want.

greeneggsam

Count, count, count!

Some vegetables contain MANY more calories than others - carrots and potatoes, for instance, are NOT equal to celery and lettuce.

Most vegetables are "free" foods in that you can eat larger volumes for fewer calories and they have lots of nutrients, but they still have calories and you should still count them. I know one of the Weight Watchers plans allows you unlimited amounts of some vegetables, as well as other foods, but that's not really in line with the way this site works.

As for fruits, they are more or less made of sugar and have 50-150 calories per piece - not a neglible amount.

cp005e

A lot of veggies are almost free, but you should still count them. I'm a little less strict about it - the difference between 1 cup and 2 cups of lettuce is about 3 calories - but denser foods like carrots have a few more calories. Fruits can be higher in calories because they are higher in sugar, so you should count them. But if I'm eating a meal that is a whole bunch of mixed veggies, I find it too tedious to put in 1/2 onion, 2 carrots, 1 tomato, 6 mushrooms, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 zucchini, etc etc. I'll log a few of the higher calorie veggies and definitely any oil or sauce that I cook them with, and leave it at that.

The reason you can probably eat as much of them as you want is that your stomach will physically be full of veggies long before you go over your caloric limits. And when you eat a lot of veggies with your meal, you will tend to eat fewer calories overall. But they're not 'free' IMO. Hope that helps!

arewethereyet

I just ate avacado and 2 oz =125 cal 11 grams of fat (un saturated)

So I say, log everything. It all adds up.

good luck! :flowerforyou:

Jackie_W

Thanks guys - that's really helped, just goes to show - don't always believe what you read! :explode:
I'm glad I don't like advocado at 125 cals !!! :happy:
Jackie xx